“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Marvel’s first television series, is from executive producers Joss Whedon. (Photo by ABC Network)

The fading “Dancing with the Stars” will be cut to one night a week in the fall, and a spinoff of “Once Upon a Time” will launch the Thursday night lineup, ABC announced Tuesday for the network’s 2013 fall schedule. Joss Whedon’s eagerly anticipated “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” will take the place of “DWTS” on Tuesday nights. The boldest aspect of the network’s new slate is the entirely new Tuesday lineup, with two family friendly comedies, “The Goldbergs” and “Trophy Wife,” leading into the drama “Lucky 7,” about guys in a lottery pool in Queens.

“Suburgatory” will be held until midseason. “The Neighbors” moves to Friday, traditionally the least-watched night of the week. “Modern Family,” “The Middle,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “Castle,” “Nashville,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Last Man Standing” and “Revenge” were all renewed. “Shark Tank,” “The Bachelor” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” will also return.

Shows given pink slips: “Happy Endings,” “Malibu Country,” “How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life),” “Body of Proof” and “Red Widow.”

Palin clashed with critics who suggested she likes the publicity as much as her parents, Todd and Sarah Palin, who are currently in a reality series for NBC. She repeatedly issued the following response: “God provides these opportunities for me.”

She finished third in season 11. Palin suggested the media would talk about her whether she returned to what she called “my little life in Wasilla” or stayed in L.A. She cut off questions by asking and answering her own: “Do I like to provide for my son? Yes, I do.”

This week’s “The Voice” on NBC ranked #1 among all Monday prime time programming in adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, beating ABC’s season premiere of “Dancing With the Stars” head to head by a 29 percent margin in 18-49 rating.

“DWTS” still rules with older viewers and still was the overall most-watched show of the night, with 18.5 million total viewers.

One other musically inclined competitor: On a highly competitive night, NBC’s “Smash” managed to hold its own, particularly among younger viewers most valued by advertisers.

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Going into next week’s semi-finals, J. R. Martinez has the edge. Hope Solo is also in it to win it. Rob Kardashian, not so much. He was in jeopardy! Ricki Lake, fatigued, made it into the semi-finals. Nancy Grace got chutzpah points for the cartwheel but was also in jeopardy… And then was cut.
Goodbye, Nancy.
It was not much of a surprise on a night cursed with more talk than dancing.
Too much filler chit chat. “How do you feel about tonight’s elimination?” Oh, spare me. And the riff on SportsCenter, “DanceCenter”? Make it stop.
The athletic Michael Jackson tribute number by the Stars of Dance troupe was cleverly choreographed, even if the costumes looked like Teletubbies.
Stand by for Muppets next Tuesday.

When it was announced that David Arquette had to go, the ballroom crowd voiced deep disapproval. Were they hoping Nancy Grace would be the one dismissed?

From the start, Arquette revealed himself to be a mediocre dancer, but with a pleasing disposition and self-deprecating humor. (I still get the feeling his wife Courtney Cox wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of cheering him on from the sidelines like a celeb-prop.)

And so week 7 of season 13 winds down. Can it get any less suspenseful? The good news of the week: Watching DWTS on fast-forward takes only 33 minutes. That includes stopping for a bit o’ Bieber.

Broadway took a beating from some of the “stars” pretending to be “dancers” this week.

Not only that, but Ricki Lake thought she had an “outer body experience” (!).

Hope Solo, handicapped by that tragic, blue crocheted shawl, managed to hang on for another week. And Chaz’s complaint about being treated as a “fat troll,” didn’t win him points. He and Lacey were dismissed after his prepared speech about the importance of being a role model.

“I wanted to show America a different kind of man,” Chaz said. His participation did go a long way toward normalizing the transgendered experience. Time for a last dance!

Carson Kressley, in an unfortunate, sporty blue satin shorts ensemble with yellow shoes and pom pons, danced off “DWTS” on Tuesday. His dancing moves were never inspired, or even proficient, but his one-liners, camera savvy and general entertainment value were assets for the show.

The fact that Chaz Bono kept going, without knees giving out, was one surprise of the night. The fact that Hope Solo seemed broken up by her middling success–a champion accustomed to winning didn’t take criticism lightly–was a bigger surprise.

All that, and Kelly Clarkson singing “Walk Away,” plus a hint about her potential to learn dancing (?), made for a hot night. In the cheesy way DWTS knows how to be hot.

Amazingly, Chaz Bono continues to dance in pain while Kristin Cavallari gets the boot on “DWTS.” Host Tom Bergeron summed up, probably correctly, that fans figured Kristin was safe and didn’t bother to vote. The illogical outcome confirms the unscientific nature of the whole exercise. But who cares when there’s this kind of news in the same installment: Cher will visit to watch Chaz dance on next week’s performance show. At last!

Opening with a festival of abs and hair gel (“available for bachelorette parties,” quips Tom Bergeron, smoothest reality show emcee in the biz), the week 2 DWTS results show was brutal. Long, stretched to maximize suspense, silly but not too oaky and a smooth finish with a nice chardonnay.

The ABC show got a lousy ratings report card for its Monday edition, dipping to 16 million viewers, it’s smallest audience to date. Not sure Tuesday’s Busby Berkeley-style fan dance helped pull in the younger demo. But Demi Lovato’s “Skyscrapper” was a nod in that direction.

Week 2 of DWTS and lots of grit out there on the dance floor. Does it make you want to vote or crack jokes?

Can we agree Hope Solo seems to be a fave even if her jive dance was a struggle? And that JR Martinez rocked the lindy/jive with a cool black-and-white opening? A showman! Nancy Grace looking scary-competitive, plus an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction (so obviously edited out for our time zone). Carson faking it with enthusiasm.

“The trouble is the worst dancers on the show are the most fun to watch,” Len Goodman observed. No kidding.

“How did Kirstie Alley do this?” a breathless Ricki Lake asked. (Why does Ricki keep making herself sound like an old lady, all about losing weight? But then she pulls it off!)

Chaz with aching knees tackles the quickstep. Oh well. Chynna is in it to win it–and with Tony she may.

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.